Japan appeals to NZ for "calm" on whale dispute
Date: 01-Feb-00
Country: JAPAN
In a letter to his New Zealand counterpart, Japanese Foreign Minister
Yohei Kono also re-iterated his country's stance on "scientific"
whaling, explaining its legitimacy and the situation of whale resources,
the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"I hope that we can continue to express our country's beliefs in a calm
way," Kono added.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark issued a statement last week
siding with a recent Greenpeace anti-whaling campaign, sparking a reply
from Japanese agriculture minister Tokuichiro Tamazawa saying he was
"gravely concerned" that Clark was siding with a group "known to be
forcing its tenets on others by means of violent actions".
Since 1987, when Japan stopped commercial whaling in compliance with an
international moratorium, Japanese boats have continued to hunt a
limited number of whales for "scientific" purposes with the whale meat
being sold commercially.
Greenpeace has launched a new global whale sanctuary petition calling on
governments to push for an end to all whaling, and in recent weeks
water-borne Greenpeace campaigners have tried to disrupt Japanese
whaling in the Southern Ocean, which lies off Antarctica between
Australia and Africa.
